New Year in New York
New York and PhiladelphiaCelebrate New Year in the Big Apple! New York is perhaps the most dynamic and exciting metropolis in the world, bursting with energy and exuberance, and one of the world’s great art destinations.
Over ten days, enjoy leisurely visits to the dazzling art collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Frick Collection, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the recently refurbished Brooklyn Museum and the city’s newest museum, Neue Galerie New York. Enjoy an overnight excursion to Philadelphia to visit two equally impressive museums: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Barnes Foundation.
The itinerary is paced to allow ample time for tour members to indulge in diverse musical and theatrical performances, as well as dining, shopping and taking in the street life, all part of the NY experience.
ITINERARY:
Saturday 27 December 2008: Sydney – New York City
Depart Sydney on Qantas QF107. Arrive New York late afternoon and transfer to your hotel conveniently located on West 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue and within walking distance from the Lincoln Center and just steps away from Central Park, the Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Hall, Broadway theatres and Fifth Avenue's famous shops.
Sunday 28 December: New York
Welcome to the Big Apple! After breakfast, depart the hotel for a full day tour which will introduce you to Downtown and Midtown Manhattan. Begin in the Financial District surrounding Wall Street, continue to Battery Point and make a stop at “Ground Zero” the site of the former World Trade Centre.
Drive through TriBeCa, home to contemporary galleries, chic cafés, designer boutiques and the downtown hip to the Midtown district. See Times Square, the Rockefeller Centre, the Broadway Theatre District, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden.
After a welcome lunch, the tour will conclude in colourful Chelsea, the heart of New York’s avant-garde art world. During the 1990s Chelsea evolved into one of Manhattan’s most trendy neighbourhoods. Former warehouses have been converted into gallery space, and Chelsea has become a thriving quarter for new art. Evening at leisure. (B, L)
Monday 29 December: New York
Start your exploration of the museums of New York with a private tour of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Enjoy the experience of touring the museum – without the crowds – one hour before it opens its doors. The museum was designed by the Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi and houses major works of the past 150 years of artistic achievement.
There are outstanding works by Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Pablo Picasso, including the artist’s seminal cubist painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), as well as major photography and film collections. The remainder of the day at leisure.
This evening attend a performance at Radio City Music Hall of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. America's most beloved holiday theatrical, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the world-famous Rockettes, features a cast of more than 140-people, glamorous costumes, and holiday music written exclusively for the Show. A New York Christmas tradition not to be missed! (B)
Tuesday 30 December: New York
Today explore the dazzling art collections of the vast and encyclopaedic Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan has extraordinary holdings of ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman art, celebrated Asian collections, and masterpieces representing the foremost traditions of European art (Bronzino, Titian, El Greco, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Ingres), including important works by innovators of the modern era (Manet, Rodin, Renoir, Cezanne and Gauguin).
We begin with an orientation tour of the museum, after which the rest of the day is free to explore the museum and its special exhibitions on your own. (B)
Wednesday 31 December: New York
In the morning visit the Frick Collection, housed in an elaborate Fifth Avenue mansion built in 1913 by Henry Clay Frick – one of America’s most successful steel and railroad tycoons. The paintings are exceptional! The collection evokes the splendour and tranquillity of a time gone by and at the same time testifies to how great art collections can still inspire viewers today. Exhibits include Rembrandt, Vermeer, Holbein, Titian, and Bronzino.
After a break for lunch, walk to The Whitney Museum. Founded in 1931 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the museum houses a superb collection of twentieth century work by leading figures, including Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, David Smith, Frank Stella and Roy Lichtenstein.
Tonight attend the New Years Eve concert of the New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln Center followed by supper at a nearby restaurant and a glass of champagne to welcome the New Year! (B, Supper)
Thursday 01 January 2009: New York - Philadelphia
Morning at leisure. In the afternoon take the train (approx. 1hours 15 minutes) to Philadelphia. Renowned for its art and cultural institutions, Philadelphia is a citywide gallery of public art. More than 1,800 murals adorn city facades and 1,400 sculptures stand on buildings and along sidewalks throughout the city, making Philadelphia home to one of the largest inventories of public art in the US. (B, D)
Friday 02 January: Philadelphia – New York
Visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with its collection of more than a half-million paintings, sculptures, artefacts and a collection of French Impressionist works. Afternoon visit to the Barnes Foundation (subject to confirmation) established in 1922 by Dr Albert C. Barnes to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts." Return to New York by train in the afternoon. (B)
Saturday 03 January: New York
Morning visit to the city’s newest museum, Neue Galerie New York, which has assembled a fine body of German Expressionist works by Franz Marc, Kandinsky and Klee, presented along side key works by Vienna Secessionist artists Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.
After a break for lunch visit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum located on Fifth Avenue, to view Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark spiral building and modern masterpieces by Kandinsky, Klee and Chagall. After the visit to the Guggenheim, return to the hotel under own arrangements. (B)
Sunday 04 January: New York
Today venture to one of the other borrows of New York, Brooklyn, to visit one of the nation’s premier art institutions, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, known for its excellent permanent exhibition featuring a diverse collection of both American and European painting and sculpture that includes works by Homer, O'Keeffe, Monet, Cézanne, and Degas.
After a farewell lunch you may wish to return to Manhattan by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge providing sweeping views of lower Manhattan's ragged skyline. Return to the hotel by subway. Remainder of the day at leisure. (B, L)
Monday 05 January: Depart New York
A free morning for that last minute sightseeing or shopping. Afternoon transfer to the airport. Depart New York in the evening. (B,L)
Tuesday 06 January: In flight
Wednesday 07 January: Arrive Sydney
Early morning arrival in Sydney.
YOUR HOTELS ****
New York - The Warwick New York Hotel
Philadelphia - Sofitel Philadelphia
NB. Hotels of a similar standard may be substituted
